Session resources
Know your rules, keep your volunteers
Handling disputes and complaints in clubs, incorporated associations and community groups. Practical help for committees from the Interact Community Dispute Resolution Service (ICDRS).
Get the free resourcesExplore the interactive guideAbout the session
Joanne Law, President of Interact Support Inc, presented this session for International Mediation Awareness Week (IMAW) 2026. It looks at why disputes in volunteer groups escalate, what your rules actually say, and the practical steps that stop small problems from costing you good volunteers.
The big idea: your rules are high-level and generic, with tight time frames, and they don’t tell you how to apply them. Under the rules you need an agreed process, “how we do things here”, that becomes your culture of dealing with disputes early and well.
What we covered
- How conflict spirals, and where early action stops it
- Model rules, your own rules and the layers of rules
- Grievance or disciplinary action?
- Where mediation sits in each state’s model rules
- Disputes with people who aren’t members
- Eight traps committees fall into, and what helps instead
The interactive guide
Go deeper at your own pace: your state’s rules step by step, the eight trap self-checks, mediator, conciliator or arbitrator, and when to call the police.
Open the interactive guideHandling conflict in clubs and associations: start here
Is it conflict, bullying or harassment? What the law expects of committee members, eight elements of good governance, and when it’s not a do-it-yourself job. It’s also the home of our fortnightly conflict management and collaboration tips.Get your free resources
Fill in your details to get:
- Committee worksheet (PDF and Word you can type into): work through your own rules as a committee in 30 to 45 minutes
- The slides from the session (PDF)
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Need a hand now?
Ask a Mediator
Tell us briefly what’s happening and a mediator accredited under the Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolution Accreditation Standards (AMDRAS) calls you back, free. No formal complaint needed.Conflict Management First Steps (CMFS) workshops
Practical training, online or in-house. CMFS for leaders is for committee members and club leaders, and a good induction for a new committee after your annual general meeting. CMFS for teams is for volunteers, members and staff who work together.Mediation and more
Mediation, facilitated conversations, conflict coaching, and help to write or review your dispute resolution policy, from AMDRAS Mediators.Contact ICDRS
icdrs@interact.support · 1300 079 345
General information, not legal advice. Your own rules may differ, so check yours. Family law disputes go to Interact Online Family Dispute Resolution at interact.support.